a lectionary resource for Catholics

Doing The Right Thing

Opening Question: Have
you ever know someone who kept a rule and showed disrespect? What
happened?

First Reading: Exodus
20:1-4a, 7-8, 12-17

Sam knew the rules, but he
used the rules to his favor. He would use anything to get ahead or
to get the better of someone else. One day, he obeyed the rules,
yet, he showed disrespect.

It was a hot day in the
class that had no air conditioning. Everyone was grumpy, including
the teacher. Sam picked this day to get the best of the teacher.

“Take your math books out
and turn to page 25,” the teacher said. Everyone took their books
out, but Sam took an extra long time. People around Sam’s desk
smiled, as he tested the teacher’s patience.

“What’s taking you so
long, Sam?” the teacher asked.

“Oh, nothing. Just doing
what you asked,” Sam replied.

A few moments later, the
teacher wrote a problem on the board. “Does anyone know the answer
to this problem?” the teacher asked.

Sam’s arm shot up.
However, when the teacher called on Sam, he sat silent. “Well,
what’s the answer?” Sam sat there silent. Others in the class began
to catch on. A few giggled. “Sam, do you know the answer?” the
teacher asked as his patience wore thin.

“Sure,” Sam replied
smiling. He gave the answer.

Throughout the rest of the
day, Sam tested the teacher’s patience, trying to wear the teacher
down. Some of the other students tried the same thing. It was not a
good day in the class.

At the end of the day, the
teacher asked to see Sam after class. “Why were showing me
disrespect?” the teacher demanded.

“I don’t know what you’re
talking about,” Sam said with a knowing smile on his face. “I kept
the rules and answered your questions, didn’t I?” It was Sam’s last
attempt to get to the teacher.

“We’ll talk again,” the
teacher sighed.

Sam kept the rules, but
showed disrespect. He used the rules to get his way, to make himself
look better than others, and entertain his friends. But, it wasn’t
the right thing to do.

God gave us rules to show
respect: The Ten Commandments. The first three commandments show
respect to God. The last seven show respect to others. We can keep
the rules but not show respect. But that would not be the right
thing to do.

Lenten Gospel
Acclamation by Owen Alstott (#45 from "Rise Up and Sing, Young
People's Music Resource," OCP Publications, Portland, OR)

Bridging Question: How
hard is it to do the right thing?

Gospel: John 2:13-16,
18-21

Reader 1:

As the Passover
festival approached, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the Temple
courtyard at Jerusalem, he found merchants selling farm animals and
doves the Jews used to offer God in worship. He also found people
who would exchange foreign coins for coins used in the Temple. After
he made a whip out of small cords, he threw the animals out of the
Temple courtyard, turned the tables of the money changers over, and
spilled their coins everywhere. “Take these
doves out of here!” Jesus yelled at the merchants. “Do
not turn my Father’s house into place for you to make money!”
Jesus’ followers remembered what was written in the Bible: “Love for
your house burns inside me.”

Reader 2:

What sign from God will
you show us that gives you the right to do this?” the Jewish leaders
demanded.

Reader 1:

“Destroy
this
temple,” Jesus answered, “and
in
three days I will raise it again.”

Reader 2:

“Workers took forty
six years to rebuild the Temple!” the leaders shot back. “It will
take you only three days to raise it up?”

Reader 1:

But Jesus was talking
about his body, God’s true Temple. When he was raised from the dead,
his followers remembered he always said this. They believed in the
scripture verse and in the words Jesus spoke.

Reader 2:

When Jesus was in
Jerusalem during the Passover festival, many people believed in his
name because they saw the things he did. But Jesus did not believe
in them because he knew what everyone was like. Jesus did not need
anyone to tell him what people were like, for he knew what was in
their hearts.

Denise was a quiet, but
strong girl. She had more than physical strength. She had a strong
heart. She would things others thought weren’t the popular things to
do. She would try to be friends with new students at school. She
helped out at the homeless shelter. She even stood up in class to
defend an opinion everyone else thought was strange. Popularity did
not matter to Denise. Doing the right thing did matter to her.

At lunch one day, she was
talking to her friends, when she over heard an argument. One of the
bullies at school walked into kick ball game, picked up the ball,
and announced he needed the ball for his friends. As he began to
walk away, Denise ran over from her friends to the bully. “No you
don’t!” she shouted as she grabbed the ball away from the boy. “They
were playing with it first!”

The boy was stunned Denise
took the ball away. He would have taken it back, but, out of the
corner of his eye, he saw the playground monitor watching the fight.
So, he decided to “discuss” the matter with her. “What gives you the
right to take the ball from me?” the bully demanded.

Denise was not going to
answer with the same question (“What gives you the right...). And
she wasn’t going to tell him she was right and he was wrong. She
didn’t want to get into a useless “discussion” with the bully. She
just wanted to end the conversation and get back to her friends. “If
you want to threaten me, go ahead,” Denise answered. With all the
other kids and adults looking on, the bully was in no mood to get in
trouble. He said nothing and walked away.

When Denise resumed the
conversation, her friends stood there amazed. “Why did you take on
the bully?” one of her friends asked.

“It was the right thing to
do,” Denise answered.

“What happens if...” one
of the girls began to say. Then she stopped. There was no need to
worry about the bully picking a fight with Denise. Denise had shown
everyone what kind of person she was. People would defend her. They
knew she would the right thing without any other reason.

Jesus challenged the
bullies in the Temple who would rather make money than allow people
to worship God. He did the right thing, like Denise.

Imagine if you had friends
like Denise. People who always tried to do the right thing without
any other reason. Those kind of people remain true friends. Jesus is
that kind of friend.

Closing Question: When
have you done the right thing? Did you make friends or lose friends
when you did the right thing? Explain.

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